O Christians know Jesus
Introduction
I introduce this book "O Christians Know Jesus" to the Christians, the people of thought to contemplate. The truth is always one. Look at the world that has many religions which have different beliefs. Every religion claims the truth but we know the truth is only one. So which religion holds the truth? The wise person is the one who searches in his religion and in others for the truth. Following your parent and your people blindly should not be the act of the wise. We are not talking about a worldly matter that has no big value to your life. In fact we are talking about the most essential matter that connects you with God and guides you to the happiness in this life and in the Hereafter. It is the true guidance of God. Without this guidance a person suffers the darkness of this life and becomes one of the losers in the Hereafter. Therefore, I urge you to read this book thoughtfully and to stop at every point sincerely to free yourself from the chains of misguidance and to reach the truth about Jesus peace be upon him.
O Christians know Jesus
6
Who Was Jesus?
According to the doctrines of Christianity, God the son descended to the Earth and became incarnate in the body of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God and has the same divine essence as God; the Glory equal and the Majesty co-eternal… Therefore, Christians believe in Jesus Christ as God who has the right to be worshipped. Also they believe that Jesus Christ is Al-knower, Almighty, Creator, and Forgiver. They believe that he restores life and brings people to account on the Day of Judgment. He was crucified for the redemption of the original sin.
Christians claim that Jesus Christ is God for the following reasons:
1) Jesus Christ has divine descriptions.
2) Jesus Christ was born without a father.
3) Jesus Christ ascended to heaven.
4) Jesus Christ restored life.
5) Jesus Christ performed many miracles.
To support their claim, Christians cited the following statements from the Bible:
*Psalm 110:1 "The Lord says to my Lord: "sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"
*Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace"
*Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"
*Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us"
* Matthew 16:22 Peter said to Jesus: "Never, Lord"
O Christians know Jesus
7
*Acts 10:36 Peter said about Jesus "…through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all"
*Matthew 16:16 "Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"
*John 11:4 "When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it"
*Matthew 1:23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[4] --which means, "God with us."
*John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning"
*John 3:13 "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man"
*John 1:3 ((Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made"
*Mark 2:5 "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
*John 5:25 "I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live"
*John 5:22 "Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son"
*John 20:28 "Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
*John 10:30 "I and the Father are one".
*John 14:9 "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."
*John 10:38 "the Father is in me and I in the Father"
*Romans 9:5 "Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen"
*Revelations 17:14 "… he is Lord of lords"
O Christians know Jesus
8
The start of claimed divinity
The divinity of Jesus was founded by Paul and his followers spread it in the Christian community with the support of Roman Emperors. It was ratified in the First General Council at Nicea in 325 A.D. despite the objection of the council’s majority. So Christians were forced to believe in Jesus as God. In fact, the divinity of Jesus dogma was established on the dead bodies of millions of Christians after its ratification. This controversy around the divinity of Jesus leads to the following questions:
Is Jesus God?
Does the Bible teach that Jesus is God?
Did the disciples believe that Jesus is God?
Did the writers of the Bible believe that Jesus is God?
Did Jesus claim divinity?
Did the divinity start at the time of Jesus and his disciples?
To answer these questions we have to shed light on the essence of Jesus and his history to find the truth. The main sources of information are: the Bible, the Christians, the Qur'an (the holly book of Muslims) and others.
The Word and the Incarnation doctrine
Unlike the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, the gospel of John (1:1-2 and 1:14) described the word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning….The Word became flesh (Jesus) and made his dwelling among us." The description of the "Word" in this gospel represents the fundamental belief of Christianity. United Church of God, an International Association, stated: "In one sense we could refer to John 1:1 as the real beginning of the Bible. It describes the nature of God as Creator even before the beginning depicted in Genesis 1:1. As The New Bible Commentary, Revised, states, "John’s distinctive contribution is to show that before the Creation the Word existed (1970, p. 930, emphasis
O Christians know Jesus
9
added). Consider carefully the context of this crucial chapter of John. Verse 14 explains exactly who this Word actually became." (Who is God p. 8).
We can understand from the description of John that Jesus (the word) had a beginning and a temporary end because the word became flesh (Jesus) and Jesus was crucified to death. After that God raised him from the dead and then He raised him to his original place at the right hand of God. The Word in John 1:1 had a beginning like the beginning of heavens in Genesis 1:1. Since the word mentioned in John 1 has a beginning and an end, he could not be God because God Almighty is Ever-Living and does not die. God proclaimed in Isaiah 43:10-11 that He is the only God and there was no god before Him or after Him. God is the first, with no beginning, before whom there is none, the last with no end after whom there is none, the predominant above whom there is none, and the internal nearer than whom there is none.
The "Word" must have Master. Who is the Master? The answer of this question is in the New Testament of the Bible. Matthew 1:18 stated that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was found to be with a child through the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:26-56 mentioned that God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to give her glad tiding of a blessed child through the Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High and God will give him the throne of his father David. Mary glorified God and thanked Him for His grace and mercy. The United Church of God said: "Clearly, the Holy Spirit was the agency or power through which the Father begot Jesus…." (Who is God P. 55) Colossians 1:15 described Jesus as the first born over all creatures without mentioning the pre-existing word. Acts 2: 36 assured all Israel that God made Jesus Lord and Christ. 1 Corinthians 15: 27-28 indicated that God put everything under Jesus and Jesus was made subject to God. Acts 2: 32 proclaimed that God made Jesus, and Acts 3: 15 proclaimed that God raised Jesus from the dead. This means that Jesus was not the Master.
O Christians know Jesus
10
Therefore, the Master is God, the Lord, the Creator, and the Sustainer of the whole universe. No one shares His domain and power. Creation, sovereignty and authority belong exclusively to God. God directed His word "Be" and he was Jesus. Indeed, when God decrees a matter, He says to it “Be” and it is. The example of Jesus is like that of Adam. Adam was created without father and without mother but he was not God. God created Adam from dust and then He said to him "Be" and he was. Therefore, Jesus Christ was not the only human born without father.
Nevertheless, Paul tried to change this fact when he told the Christians that Jesus was willing to voluntarily surrender His godly power and position for their sakes: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8).
You can see the difference between Paul and the Bible. While the Bible confirms the will of God in the creation of Jesus, Paul tried to confirm the will of Jesus in taking the nature of man. But the truth can not be hidden. When you read the last part of Philippians 2:7 " being made in human likeness", you understand that another one made Jesus. Almighty God made Jesus as He created mankind and made them male and female (Mark 10:6). In fact Paul admitted that Jesus was a creature of God when he described him as the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15).
Since John 1 is considered the fundamental belief of Christianity, all apostles must know it and convey it. However, it has no place in the other gospels and the Old Testament. The absence of this fundamental belief in the Bible except in John means that Jesus and all messengers before him did not teach it hence there should be a doubt about it. It might be inserted into the
O Christians know Jesus
11
gospel of John like the insertion of Trinity in 1 John 5:7-8 in the King James Version (KJV), also known as the Authorized Version (AV), but it was excluded by the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Another example is the insertion of the word "God" in 1 Timothy 3:16 to prove that God appeared in the body of Jesus (God incarnation) but the word "God" was removed from the Catholic version. The Bible scholars who authored "The Five Gospels" stated in p. 10: "The words attributed to Jesus in the fourth Gospel (Gospel of John) are the creation of the evangelist for the most part, and reflect the development language of John's Christian community." James Dunn, the author of "The Evidence for Jesus" wrote: "If they were part of the original words of Jesus himself, how could it be that only John picked them up and none of the others? Call it scholarly skepticism if you like, but I find it almost incredible that such sayings should have been neglected had they been known as a future of Jesus' teaching." He also wrote that the writer of the forth gospel: "was not concerned with the sort of questions which trouble some Christians today- Did Jesus actually say this? Did he use these precise words? And so on." (The Evidence for Jesus, p.43) The New Jerusalem Bible says in p.1742: "It is today freely accepted that the forth Gospel underwent a complex development before it reached its final form." Consequently, John 1:1-2 and John and 1:14 might be a creation of the evangelists to support the dogma of God incarnation.
Some historical points on the Incarnation controversy
The Incarnation doctrine has been debated for centuries. Some Christian scholars rejected the doctrine and others accepted it. The Unitarians who rejected it believed that Jesus was a creature (human) and he was not a divine person. Those who accepted it were of different opinions:
O Christians know Jesus
12
1) Paul of Samosata in the third century: The incarnation of God in the being of Jesus Christ means that God conferred on Jesus a specific intellect but he was not God.
2) Lucian: The incarnation of God in the being of Jesus Christ means that God the Son was incarnated into Jesus Christ but incarnation did not make Jesus God, Creator, eternal, and everlasting. God remained Creator and Jesus remained created as before.
3) Arius in the forth century: Jesus Christ is not truly God but a perfect creature who was considered demi God with the qualities of both the divine and the human.
4) Roman Catholic Church (Pauline Church) in the forth century: The incarnation of God in the being of Jesus Christ means that God the Son was incarnated into Jesus Christ therefore he became both God and man at the same time (one person with two natures).
5) Paulician sect in the fifth century: Jesus Christ was not God but an angel who was born in human form from the womb of virgin Mary; and because God conferred on him His glory and majesty, he was called the Son of God.
6) Nestorian sect in the fifth century: Jesus Christ was true God and true human (two persons and two natures), the one Son and the other God. The one Son of God and the other Son of Adam. The Son was very God and Jesus was very man.
7) Jacobite Church in the sixth century: Jesus Christ was only God who possessed one nature and appeared in the form of man.
O Christians know Jesus
13
Does Jesus have the same divine essence of God?
God is greater than Jesus.
John 14:28 said: "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I." Therefore Jesus is not co-equal with God. Likewise, God is greater than all people (John 10:29).
The Father is more knowledgeable than Jesus.
Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 said: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Jesus could not know even what could happen to him. While Jesus was in the crowd at once, a sick woman touched his clothes to be healed but Jesus did not know who touched him. (Mark 5:30-34 and Luke 8:44-46) In another occasion, Mark 11:12-14 reported that Jesus saw from a distance a fig tree and went to it to get some fruits but he found no fruits so he cursed it. It is clear from this event that Jesus did not know that the fig tree had no fruits.
It is the will of God not Jesus.
Jesus came to do the will of God (John 6:38). He learned from God and conveyed His words and fulfilled His commands. (John 14:24, John 14:31, John 15:10 and John 15:15) He could do nothing by himself as John 5:30 stated about Jesus: "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." Also he said in John 8:15: "I pass judgment on no one." John 4/34 stated that Jesus said: "My food," said Jesus "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." Also Jesus addressed his followers that only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 7:21) And no one can come to Jesus and to raise him to the last day unless God permits him. (John 6:44 and John
O Christians know Jesus
14
6:65) Jesus praised his followers and considered them his mothers and brothers and sisters because they did the will of God and obey His words. (Matthew 12:50 and Mark 3:34-35 and Luke 11:28) Jesus does not have the will to grant his followers places with him in the kingdom of heaven. Only God has the will to grant places in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 20:23)
Did Jesus claim divinity?
There is no explicit statement from Jesus that he is God. If he was God, he would have made explicit statements everywhere in the New Testament. God wants from people to understand divinity with no confusion because divinity is the essential element of faith. However, people of the Church always try to convince Christians that many people do not grasp the clear biblical fact that Jesus Christ is the Creator. They also say, "As in the first century, today only a relatively few people truly comprehend who Jesus was, where he came from, what he is doing and what he will yet do. It is the same today. Few people really understand the true origins of Jesus Christ." (Who was God P.10 and 25) This indicates that the claimed divinity of Jesus is not understood in both non-Christian societies and Christian society.
In fact Jesus did not claim divinity. A New Testament scholar, Archbishop Michael Ramsey, said: "Jesus did not claim deity for himself." (Jesus and the Living Past P. 39) There is no evidence to support that Jesus claimed divinity during his life. James Dunn, who affirms orthodox Christology, stated in a book called Christology in the Making p. 60: "there was no real evidence from the earliest Jesus tradition for what could fairly be called a consciousness of divinity." Some Christian scholars admitted that they could not prove the divinity of Jesus according to the teaching of Jesus. Brain Hebblethwaite said: "It is no longer possible to defend the divinity of Jesus by reference to the claims of Jesus." (The Incarnation p. 74) The New Testament scholar C. F. D.
O Christians know Jesus
15
Moule confirmed this in a book called The Origin of Christology, p. 136, where he said: "Any case for a high Christology that depended on the authenticity of the alleged claims of Jesus about himself, especially in the Fourth Gospel would indeed be precarious."
Many Christian sects and many Christian scholars announced in public through history that Jesus is not God. For example, the well known Bishop of Durham in England, David Jenkins, said that Jesus was not God. (The Economist, April 1, 1989, vol. 311, no. 7596, p. 19) Daily News 25/6/84 reported the following: "More than half of England's Anglican bishops say Christians are not obliged to believe that Jesus Christ was God, according to a survey published today. Only 11 of the bishops insisted that Christians must regard Christ as both God and man, while 19 said it was sufficient to regard Jesus as "God's supreme agent". One declined to give a definite opinion." John Hick, the editor of a book called The Myth of God Incarnate wrote in its preface the following: "The writers of this book are convinced that another major theological development is called for in this last part of the twentieth century. The need arises from growing knowledge of Christian origins, and involves a recognition that Jesus was a man approved by God for a special role within the divine purpose, and that the later conception of him as God incarnate, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity living a human life, is a mythological or poetic way of expressing his significance for us." Those Christian scholars who still believe in the divinity of Jesus and could not prove it claimed that Jesus did not know that he was divine but this was known after his resurrection. Ironically, Jesus did not know that he was God!
Was Jesus called Immanuel?
Matthew 1:23 stated: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means,
O Christians know Jesus
16
"God with us." The same prophecy is in Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" but without the statement:"God with us." Isaiah 8:8 indicates that the virgin in Isaiah gave birth in the time of King Ahaz, so Immanuel of Matthew is different from that of Isaiah. Jews believe that Immanuel is either the son of Isaiah or Ahaz. Immanuel cannot be Jesus either for the following reasons: firstly angels who spoke to Mary did not say he would be called Immanuel but rather Jesus, secondly he was named Jesus by his parents, thirdly Jesus was not called Immanuel by his disciples nor by others in all books of the New Testament, and finally in Isaiah 9:6 he is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace referring to one of the Jewish kings. While Matthew uses the Greek word "parthenos" which means virgin, Isaiah uses the Hebrew word "almah" which means young woman. Since the Immanuel of Isaiah is different from that of Matthew, Immanuel of Matthew should not be taken as a proof that Jesus is God because by accepting this Christians should accept that Immanuel of Isaiah is God too. Consequently, Matthew 1:23 should be revised.
In addition, others besides Jesus and Ahaz had names which have similar meanings to that of "Immanuel" such as Ishmael which means "God hears" and Jehoiakim which means "God raises" and Immanuel Kant a famous German philosopher who lived in the 19th century yet their names did not give them the right to be God.
Are God and Jesus called "I AM"?
It is reported in John 8:58 that Jesus said: "before Abraham was born, I am." Christians use this verse as a proof for the divinity of Jesus for two reasons: first Jesus existed before Abraham and second the phrase "I am" is the name of God as it is mentioned in Exodus 3:14. When Moses asked God what to tell the
O Christians know Jesus
17
Israelites, God said: "This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you." Therefore Christians claims that "I am" of John 8:58 which is the God's name in Exodus 3:14 refers to Jesus. The first claim that Jesus existed before Abraham could not be an evidence that he is God because his genealogy goes back to Adam so even if he existed before Abraham he is still human being (Luke 3:38). The Bible mentioned Melchezidek to exist before Abraham but he is not God (Hebrews 7:3). If the word "I am" of John 8:58 refers to that in Exodus 3:14, it refers to God and not to Jesus because there is no indication that the name of Jesus was "I AM". And if it refers to Jesus, it means that Jesus existed before Abraham and not to be the name of Jesus as it is mentioned in the Syriac Peshitta version of the Bible where John 8:58 reads: "Before Abraham was, I was." Christian scholars doubted that Jesus claimed this. Christian scholar, James Dunn, the author of "The Evidence for Jesus" wrote: "If the 'I am' had been part of the original tradition, it is very hard indeed to explain why none of the other three evangelists made use of them." (p.36).
Was Jesus called God?
It is mentioned in some verses of the Bible that Jesus was called "God" such as that in John 20:28 which states: "Thomas said to him (Jesus), "My Lord and my God!", and Romans 9:5 which sates: "Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Such verses should not be used as a proof that Jesus is God. We can understand from the context of John 20:28 that Thomas wondered and said: "My Lord and my God!" when he saw Jesus because he believed that Jesus died. He did not mean Jesus by his words. Romans 9:5 addressed Jesus as God maybe to confirm that he got the authority of God. Others besides Jesus were called "God" in the Bible yet they were not considered God. For example, Exodus 4:16 addressed Moses as God for his brother
O Christians know Jesus
18
Aaron: "He speaks to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him." And Exodus 7:1 addressed Moses as God for Pharaoh: "Then the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh…." This for sure does not mean that Moses was God. It means that Moses was given the authority from God. When the angel of Lord spoke to Hager as it is mentioned in Genesis 16:11-13, she named this angel 'God' by saying: "She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me." This does not mean that the angel of LORD who spoke to Hager was God. Also Psalm 82:1 reads: "God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the "gods." It is understood from the context that the word 'God' and "gods' are related to the children of Israel.
Was Jesus called Lord?
Jesus was called "Lord" in many verses of the New Testament such as Matthew 16:22 "Peter took him (Jesus) aside and began to rebuke him."Never, Lord!" he said: "This shall never happen to you!" Luke 11:1 "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples" Acts 10:36 "You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all" Acts 17:14 "They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings…." Acts 2:34 "For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."
The word "Lord" in the Old Testament is not the name of Almighty God. It means "Teacher" so Jesus was called "Lord" to mean teacher. This understanding is highly supported by the verses of the Bible. The Old Testament wrote "LORD" with capital letters for God and "Lord" for people to differentiate between the one for
O Christians know Jesus
19
God from that for people. Mary Magdalene, who was one of the close followers of Jesus, called Jesus "Teacher". John 20:17 reported that when Mary Magdalene met Jesus after the alleged crucifixion, she said to him: “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Then she went to the disciples and said: "I have seen the Lord!" This verse from John Gospel confirmed that the word "Lord" means "Teacher". It also confirmed that the LORD is the God of Jesus and the God of his brothers (the disciples) through the words of Jesus in John 20:17: "Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’"
The word "Lord" in Acts 2:34 is not related to Jesus but to another one. Matthew 22:42-45 reported that Jesus asked the Pharisees about the Christ: "Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they replied. He said to them, How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says: "'The Lord said to my Lord "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet". If David calls him 'Lord' how can he be his son?" It is well known that Jesus is the son of David as it is reported in Matthew and Luke. Jesus did not reject his lineage but he confirmed that he is not the Lord whom David spoke about. David spoke about another person whom he called him 'Lord' to show respect not to approve divinity. In fact the Greek original word which means 'Lord' was usually used in a polite manner to show respect.
Are God and Jesus one entity?
John 10:30 stated: "I and the Father are one." This does not mean that Jesus is God. First, Trinity means three persons and not two. Second, The Father and Jesus are two different individuals and entities. Third, when Jesus asked the Father in John 17:11 to protect his followers and make them one as he and the Father are one, he did not mean that they all be one entity or one person. He rather meant to bring the unity of purpose among them as he is one
O Christians know Jesus
20
with the Father in purpose. Also the unity of purpose is stressed in Act 4:32 where all believers are believed to be one in heart and mind. Finally, Jesus made a clear distinction between him and God when he told his followers not to call any one 'father' because there is only one father in heaven, God, and not to call any one 'teacher' because there is only one teacher, the Christ, (Matthew 23:9-10). Even Paul, the founder of Christianity, believed in the Father as the only God and he made clear distinction between God and Jesus (1Corinthians 8:6).
Has anyone ever seen God?
John 14:9 said: "Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father." This statement was taken as a proof that Jesus is God. But the same gospel (John 1:18) and 1 John 4:12 affirmed that no one has ever seen God. Also Matthew 6:6 confirmed that God is unseen. Therefore, John 14:9 does not mean that Jesus is God, it rather means that whoever has seen Jesus has known God as Jesus came to convey the message from God. This interpretation is supported by John 1:18 which stated that no one has ever seen God but Jesus has made God known to people.
Does God indwell in any of His creatures?
John 10:38 said: "the Father is in me and I in the Father." This was not for Jesus but also for Paul who claimed in 1 John 4:13 that he and his followers are in God and He is in them. Jesus stated in John 14:20 that he is in the Father and his disciples are in him and he is in his disciples. It is impossible to understand from these statements that Jesus and the disciples indwell in God or God indwells in Jesus and his followers. God never indwells in any of His creatures nor do they indwell in Him. The real meaning of these statements from the Bible is that God is with Jesus and with his real followers and they are with Him. God is with Jesus and his followers through His guidance and support and they are with God
O Christians know Jesus
21
through their full submission and obedience according to the teaching brought by Jesus from God.
Is Jesus the Son of God?
The word "Son" does not have a real meaning because it was related not only to Jesus Christ but also to all righteous people. This can be found in many books of the Bible such as:
*Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God"
*Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous"
*John 1:12 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God"
*Luke 20:36 "and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection"
*1 John 4:7 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God"
*1 John 5:1 "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well"
*Exodus 4:22 "Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son" Compare this to Colossians 1:15: He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
*Isaiah 43:6 "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth"
O Christians know Jesus
22
*2nd Samuel 8:13-14 "He (Solomon) shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son."
*Jermiah 31:9 "….I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my first born."
*Job 1:6 "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them."
*Psalms 2:7 "I will tell the decree of the Lord: He said to me, "You are my son, today I have begotten you."
*Genesis 6:2 "The sons of Gods saw the daughter of men…."
*Deuteronomy 14:1 "You are the children of the Lord your God."
*Hosea 1:10 "…they will be called 'the sons of living God."
The English word "son" is the translation of the Greek word "paida" or the Latin word "puer", which means also "servant". The word "paida" is the translation of the Hebrew word "ebed Yahweh", which means "servant of God" or "slave of God" as in the Septuagint. Therefore, Jesus was the servant of God like any human being but God chose him to be one of His beloved messengers and prophets. Upton Sinclair, American writer, said in his book, "A Personal Jesus": "And let anyone think that: in calling God his Father he was proclaiming himself the Son, let it be made clear that he called God your Father, too. He said it eighteen times in the New Testament: Your heavenly Father Knoweth", and so on. He meant that we were all sons of God, and he was one of them."
Jesus was the son of man.
Jesus is the son of David (Matthew 1:1 and Mark 10:47 and Luke 1:32 and Luke 3:31). Jesus Christ is called “the Son of Man” more than 80 times in the New Testament. It was the term He most commonly used in referring to Himself. (Who is God, P. 35). The Bible in Numbers 23:19 made it clear that God is neither a man nor a son of man thus Jesus is not God.
O Christians know Jesus
23
The manhood of Jesus Christ is well affirmed in all books of the Bible such as:
*Matthew 8/20: "Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head"
*Mark 2:28 "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath"
*Luke 7:34 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners"
*John 8:40 "As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things"
The Bible has numerous human descriptions for Jesus Christ that befits not Almighty God such as:
*Jesus Christ was a descended of David - Romans (1:3)
*Jesus Christ was conceived and born through a normal delivery- Luke (2:21), John (12:2)
*Jesus Christ was nursed - Luke (11:27)
*Jesus Christ grew, became strong, was filled with wisdom and had the grace of God - Luke (2:40), Luke (2:52)
*Jesus Christ had brothers - Matthew (13:54-56)
*Jesus Christ considered his disciples as his brothers - (John 20:17)
*Jesus Christ used to eat and drink - Matthew (11:19), Luke (7:34)
*Jesus Christ used to work - Mark (6:3), Matthew (13:55)
*Jesus Christ was poor - Matthew (8:20)
*Jesus Christ used to get hungry and thirsty. He used to be tired and to sleep. He used to be angry and sad and to cry. He used to be weak - Matthew(4:2), Matthew (21:8), Mark (11:2), John (19:28), Matthew (8:24), Luke (8:23), Mark(4:38), John (4:6), John (11:33), John (11:35), Matthew (26:37), Matthew (26:38), Mark (14:33), Luke (22:43).
*Jesus Christ used to pay temple tax to the Romans - Matthew (17:24-27)
O Christians know Jesus
24
*Jesus Christ did not know the unseen - Mark (13:32), Mark (11:12-13)
*Jesus Christ was tempted by devil but God cannot be tempted - Matthew 4:1 and James 1:13. Although tempted like every one of us, Jesus never transgressed God’s law. He never once sinned (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22). (Who is God, P. 34)
*Jesus Christ escaped but he was arrested - John (11:53-54), John (10:39), John (8:59), John (18:12-13)
*Jesus Christ was insulted, struck, slapped, and spit in his face - Luke (22:63-64), Matthew (26:67), John (18:22-23)
*Jesus Christ was crucified to death [according to Christian's claim] - Mark (14:64), Matthew (26:66).
Jesus was the Messiah and servant of God.
The Greek word "Christ" stands for the Hebrew word "Messiah" which means "Anointed". This was the human title that was used for Jesus in the Bible. There are differences among the writers of the Gospels about the title of Jesus. It is reported that Jesus asked his disciples who they think he is. Peter replied: "You are the Christ" in Mark 8:29, "You are the Christ of God" in Luke 9:20, "You are the Christ, son of living God" in Matthew 16:6. It is obvious that all agreed that Jesus is the Christ but Matthew added "son of living God".
God addressed Jesus as His servant and supported him with His spirit (Matthew 12:18). The disciples addressed Jesus as the servant of God too (Acts 3:13 and Acts 3:26 and Acts 4:27). Early Christians described Jesus Christ as a great prophet and rejected his divinity and the Trinity dogma.
Did the disciples worship Jesus?
Christians argue that Jesus is God because it is reported in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible that people worshiped Jesus. They used Matthew 2:2 which reported the story of the three
O Christians know Jesus
25
wise men who came from the east and asked "Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east and we have come to worship him." Let us examine the statement of the wise men to figure out its real meaning. The wise men were looking for a baby born from the Jews who is going to be the Jews' king not Jews' God. In Mark 15:2 and in Luke 23:3 Jesus confirmed that he was the king of the Jews not the God. When Pilate, the governor, asked him "Are you the king of the Jews?", Jesus replied "Yes, it is as you say." The wise men did not come to worship Jesus as they worshiped God but to express gratitude for him as a king as it is reported in the New American Bible (Catholic press, 1970) where the text states: "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We observed his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage."
The same thing can be applied to John 9:37-38 of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible which reads: "Jesus said to him, 'You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you. He said, 'Lord, I believe; and he worshiped him." In fact this verse is not found in the old manuscripts of the Bible and in the American Bible, the translators wrote the following footnote: "This verse (John 9:38), omitted in important MSS (manuscripts), may be an addition for a baptismal liturgy". In addition, the story in John 9 was about a blind man who could see miraculously by Jesus. Jews asked the man about Jesus who enabled him to see and he replied: "He is a prophet", and we know that a prophet is not God to be worshiped.
In fact Jesus Christ did not ask his followers to worship him but to worship God alone and to love Him and to fear Him. Matthew 4/10 said: "Away from me Satan for it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." This is reported in Luke 4:8 too. He taught people to love the only God (Mark 12/28-34 and Luke 10:25-28), and to fear the only One Who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28). And after the ascension of Jesus to his Lord, the disciples continued to go to the
O Christians know Jesus
26
Jews’ temple to worship God alone. The book of Acts described how the Apostles looked at Jesus. During the thirty years after Jesus the Apostles believed that Jesus was the servant of God and they devoted their prayers towards God and not towards Jesus (Acts 4:23-30).
Jesus worshiped and praised God.
Jesus praised God and prayed for himself (Matthew 11:25 and John 17: 1-19). He often withdrew to pray (Luke 5:16 and Luke 22:41 and Luke 9:18). It was reported that Jesus prayed in many places such as solitary places, mountains, Jew temple, etc. For example Mark 1/35 stated: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." In another occasion Jesus went to a mountain where he prayed (Mark 6:46 and Matthew 14:23 and Luke 9:28). His Prayers and praise were devoted to God (Luke 6:12 and Luke 10:21 and John 4:20-23). Mark 14/34-36 described the prayer of Jesus: "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch.'' Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him…" This story is mentioned also in Matthew 26:36-44. A book titled The Middle East in Bible Prophecy P. 4 stated: "Here Jesus of Nazareth worshiped, taught and confronted the money changers, scribers, Pharisees and other religious authority."
The best picture of submission and obedience to God is in Hebrews 5:7-10 where Jesus offered prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to God to save him from death and indeed God heard His servant's supplications because of his full submission and righteousness and made him high priest in the order of Melchizedek. He used to order his followers to pray (Luke 22:40). He taught them how to pray and what to say. For example he said "When you pray, say: Father hallowed be your name, your
O Christians know Jesus
